Again Pushing AI for Writers?

Really, why does a human even need to be involved in writing? That seems superfluous. If AI is a de facto ghostwriter, all the human needs to do is focus on marketing. Time saver! The power of teamwork!

Yes, I read another Substack post today touting the virtues of using AI to write a book. In this guy's (and other experts') defense, I suppose everyone is eager to write about the next big thing, but that's really no excuse for debasing oneself. This post takes a somewhat different tack, by listing all the reasons why AI can't write human emotion. (Hello? Been there; wrote about that.) But all is not lost, he says! Sure, AI can only pretend to understand how the human heart works, but "all" a human writer needs to do is take that dry output and modify it! What? 

Maybe I just don't understand the reasons why people write books. I naively thought it was to experience the joy (thrill, challenge, what-have-you) of writing. So, if I'm wrong, why do people choose to write? Obviously, the answer is money. Luckily for me, that was never my goal. And it shouldn't be anyone's! Because you're going to be sorely disappointed. 

I'm struggling to understand this Substack writer's point. Is it that Average Joe Writer needs AI to write complete, grammatically correct sentences for him? Nope. The writer states: 

"So why use it at all?

Because AI drafts fast. Because it brainstorms twenty options in seconds. Because it handles mechanical work like summaries, transitions, and filler scenes while you focus on the parts that matter." 

Don't all the parts matter? You betcha filler scenes are hard to write. (Ask me how I know.) I haven't exactly conquered that challenge. That's part of writing, albeit the hard part, but who said writing is supposed to be easy? As for "twenty options", again, come up with your own options! I blogged about how I initially took Running From Herself in an entirely different direction, found out that direction ended in a dead end, then backtracked and turned left, instead of right. If you don't possess the imagination to write, don't write. 

Think AI-written books will be your road to success? They won't be, once the reviews roll in. Your (AI-written) blurb might trick a few suckers into buying, but there's no surer way to garner reviews than by readers detesting your book. 

I don't pretend to understand these so-called experts' motives in pushing AI. All I know is, writing shouldn't be treated as a parlor game. If you think civilization is stupid now, just wait until AI does everything for everybody. It's a catastrophe in waiting. People will be tripping over their shoelaces left and right, since they won't know how to tie them and AI (currently) has no hands.

I may not be the brightest bulb, but call me crazy---I still enjoy engaging my brain. 

Real writers, take heart. Once the market is flooded with AI-penned books and once the inevitable rebellion ensues, our talemt will at last be celebrated.